Certain concepts presented in McGuire’s seventh chapter honestly make me feel uncertain and a little paranoid. Religious legitimation is one of these ideas in which I can think of many harmful modern examples: conservative political stances fighting against abortion due to the belief that every person is a “gift of God”, extreme and radical terrorists who believe in “holy” wars, oppressive caste system societies in which awful living conditions are allowed due to a religious legitimation, etc. The idea that religion can be forced onto people and create oppression is frankly unsettling. It is disheartening that religion, which can be such a positive and beautiful light in people’s lives, is also being used to manipulate and oppress. The next concept that has the potential to cripple individuals is religious socialization. This is the idea that religions can reinforce roles that may be extremely harmful to some but are justified by the supposed religious content. This has the power to keep people “in line” and following a system without contemplating whether or not their prescribed social role or moral guidelines has their best interest in mind or not. It is apparent that this concept is a useful strategy for establishing conformity and a peaceful society, but it inhibits change and awareness that can be vital for the happiness and freedom of the people. Last but not least, social control is frightening in the sense that when religious socialization dominates a society, people become like minded and the fire is fueled by group-think. This can be harmful to people who exist in the society but have aspects of their life or lifestyle are deemed “deviant” by the religious group and are thus excluded, oppressed, or even targeted by that society. This has the potential to be possible in America where seventy percent of the people are Christian and thus, have the same set of ethics and ideas of what is “bad” and what is “good”. I am aware that these concepts are all inevitable results of religious life joining with greater society, it is frankly a little scary to think of how powerful religion can be in a negative way.

It was very interesting reading McGuire’s chapter on the correlation between religion and the “vested interests of the dominant social classes” after hearing all the different case studies presented before Spring Break (McGuire 280). During this chapter, McGuire writes in detail about the connection between religion and social change. Some of the key factors that stood out to me in this discussion was differentiating between religion promoting or inhibiting social change (either way, they’re typically occurring simultaneously.) McGuire spoke in particular of African-American religious groups and their relationship with society and social change.

While reading this chapter, I was often reminded of the case study presentations given by my classmates the week prior, and in particular those who read Goldman and Marti’s books. I related them to the two kinds of distinction we typically find within religious groups and society. The Rajneeshpuram group discussed in Goldman’s book reminded me of the friction and segregation between the religious group and society whereas the Mosaics Church seemed to have an opposite effect, directly pulling in and incorporating aspects from the LA community that surrounded it in order to make it more appealing and relatable to the younger generations. After hearing both of these presentations, I felt quite differently about both groups. The Mosaics church drew me in and made me feel more connected to their message of embracing diversity of multi-ethnic communities coming together as one. And on the other hand, I felt detached and unsympathetic towards the Rajneeshpuram community. I can’t shake that there is probably a correlation between my liking of the group that tries to assimilate to society versus my reproachfulness of the group that isolates itself from society.

I have always viewed religion, in general, as a way to find comfort, love, and meaning in all things. Regardless of name or following, religion, in my eyes, has been something positive and powerful enough to change bad things to good. Religion has the power to legitimize even things that are not related to it and that amount of power could become dangerous. Religious legitimation of the status quo, as written in McGuire’s, “Religion: The Social Context”, is sometimes, “the result of direct collusion between the dominant classes and the dominant religious organizations” (McGuire 241). Whether a ruler enforces a national religion or a separation between church and state, religion can set certain standards as to how a nation is governed. By choosing to govern a nation under a religion, the unity within that community will grow. It is easier to legitimize wars and new rulers when everyone lives their lives by the same set of moral codes and standards. The idea of Divine Right allowed monarchs to maintain their power, regardless of the decisions they made, while simultaneously preventing others from reaching the same level of power. Religion has legitimized, “slavery and racial segregation, industrialization and anti unionism, warfare and international policy” (242). Although we have the separation of church and state, recent debates about Planned Parenthood have made the separation feel smaller and smaller. It is daunting to see how much influence religion has had in history and it is even more intimidating to think of how our future in America could be affected by the same thing.

This last week of class was focused on religious congregations and the differences and similarities between them. On Monday we discussed our visits to various religious congregations throughout Redlands, and what we learned and observed during these visits. The number of different congregations that people visited and the similarities and differences between them were fascinating to see all at once. On Wednesday we saw the very last case study presentation on the Mosaic church. This was a really unique and interesting congregation and seeing such an in-depth look at it was a very new experience. Overall the last week was very interesting, and provided an excellent opportunity to experience new spiritual methods and practices and how so many disparate people take their own individual paths to enlightenment and religion. Going into this next week and the classes that come after Midterm, I cannot wait to more closely examine the various ways in which religious groups interact with each other and society at large. This has been a very interesting class, and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

Before we went on Spring Break we each presented on the congregations we visited and had our last book presentation on A Mosaic of Believers: Diversity and Innovation in a Multiethnic Church. The Congregation presentations inspired me to go out and visit more churches in the local Redlands area. There seems to be a lot of unique places where people can come together to worship in an organized fashion. I was so happy to hear that everyone, for the most part, had good experiences going out and doing this little study. I believe that this assignment was a key factor in truly understanding the denominations that we each visited. I visited a Catholic Denomination, that I had no prior knowledge of and now I feel that I have a pretty good idea of what the religion is about.
The last book presentation was one that I really enjoyed because the church has a unique vibe to it. It is located in Los Angeles so it isn’t too far from both school and my home. I am interested in trying it out because it values human uniqueness and welcomes those who are creative. I love the idea of the church but I do not know what I would think of attending it full time. It seems as if it may not be strong in doctrines or worship and focus a lot more on human beings as a whole. Although this is a great concept for those that are after that, it may not be the home for me. That is what is so special about educating ourselves on churches, we become aware of the fact that there is more to the world than just what we practice.

Zen master and world-famous spiritual leader, Thich Nhat Hanh expands on some Zen Buddhist principles that can help one successfully cope with Trump. He emphasizes the need to “see” before taking action; this means that one must have stillness and generate compassion and understanding before going forward as a social activist. The goal of this mindfulness is to come to a place of ahisma— or nonviolence that is rooted in a deep sense of love. Brother Phap Dung, a monk at Plum Village, points to a Buddhist teaching of interdependence, meaning that those we perceive to be our biggest enemies can also be our greatest teachers. He argues that “Trump’s grand and vulgar self-absorption is inviting all of us to examine our own selfishness. His ignorance calls us to attend to our own blind spots. The fears that he stokes and the isolation he promotes goad us to be braver, more generous.” In this regard, it might be helpful for some Americans to participate in an unofficial religion, and adopt some Buddhist principles to help them deal with chaos and conflict in the country. This is where I personally love the concept of using elements of religions to help an inner journey, which is labeled as unofficial religion. There is something useful in every religious ideology that can improve people’s lives in ways that their own individual religion might not provide for them. Therefore, I am a huge advocate of recognizing and responding to political and social conflict with dignity, grace, and mindfulness.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zen-and-the-art-of-activism_us_58a118b6e4b094a129ec59af?section=us_religion

Last Sunday, I attended a service at the Redlands United Church of Christ. This congregation considers themselves to be a group of “progressive Christians” who on their website “welcome people of all races, genders, and sexual orientations”. Because I have only attended a Catholic church prior to this, the openness of this church really surprised me. Published in the New York Times, Ross Douthat discusses the political leanings of the Pope in his article, “Springtime for Liberal Christianity”. This article discusses how different this Pope has been compared to those in the decades before. Although in interviews he claims to not be left leaning politically, his actions and claims towards sexuality, marriage, and abortion say otherwise. According to the article, many claim that Christianity cannot be liberal. The more liberal they, the further the teachings are from scripture. Although I’m not sure if I personally agree with this because I do not have a background knowledge or further evidence to prove it, the sermon I saw on Sunday demonstrated this claim. The sermon was focused on Black History Month and while God’s equal love for everyone was mentioned, there was a lack of scripture to support it. Because I have only attended one service, I can say that the claim the article made is common or true, but it was interesting to see it played out in a real “progressive” church service.

Listening to everyone’s experiences within other styles of church services pointed out a lot of things that broke the “norms” that most are used to, especially having grown up in specific churches. One of the things that stood out to me most was the congregation whose leader was openly lesbian and who supported a church that was extremely inclusive no matter the walk of life one comes from. Majority of the time, I personally have come to find that religion isn’t exactly all that welcoming of differing practices in sexuality and certain churches are often even very segregated as to the demographics of the congregation. However, a openly lesbian rabbi in a New York City synagogue is fighting  all of these “norms” by first, being open about her sexuality in general. To me this seems to be a growing trend with the upcoming generations and their religious experiences: people have come to make religious ideals and values to fit their own personal lifestyles which I think is an interesting take on religion and plays into the idea of spirituality that has become so popular. This New York City rabbi has held led and organized many protests through the church in regards to issues race and sexuality, most recently bringing together Jews and Muslims to protest Trump’s recent bans and orders and prides herself on leading a congregation for people who have been turned away from their family or from family synagogues due to their sexuality. I have found that it has been extremely common for people who have taken on new-wave roles within the church to use their religion and their position within their religion as a platform in order to fight intolerance, much like Sharon Kleinbaum.

http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/outfront-lesbian-rabbi-fights-intolerance-love-n701151

This week for my religion in the news article, I wanted to focus on an aspect of religion I have not been paying all that much attention to, spirituality. While looking through my New York Times phone app to find some articles that stood out to me, I discovered one by Rivka Galchen and Benjamin Moser called Which Canonical Work is Frequently and Frustratingly Misread? Though I didn’t did not expect to use this particular article for my religion in the news post since it had no clear religious connotation within the title, I soon realized I was wrong and changed my mind once I started reading.

The article is split into two sections, one written by each author, I’ll be focusing on the section by Galchen, which was about Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote. I remember reading this book in my high school Spanish class and having a whole unit on Don Quixote de la Mancha, analyzing Cervantes’s book and theorizing about its contents. The article really had no outward tie with religion, but it did with spirituality. Galchen received this book her freshman year in college two weeks before her dad unexpectedly passed away, and this book held such a significant meaning in her mind because of that reason, “[i]t wasn’t only because it was the last that I had heard from him that the gift felt coded and meaningful”. This really reminded me of the kind of thing Ammerman was looking for in her book Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes, she wanted to see where religion or spirituality took place in one’s everyday life, and to me, this seemed like a prime example.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/books/review/which-canonical-work-is-frequently-and-frustratingly-misread.html?_r=0

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/americans-rate-jews-highest-muslims-lowest-on-feeling-thermometer_us_58a3579fe4b094a129ef90e9?section=us_religion

In this article from The Huffington Post, it talks about a study conducted by Pew Research Center, which surveyed approximately 4,000 Americans to see how accepting they are towards other religions. The results of this survey showed that Americans are increasingly becoming more accepting towards other relgions, as compared to a similar survey conducted by Pew in 2014. Jews and Catholics received the “warmest” rating, while Muslims received the “coldest.” I think this article is really interesting because I never would have assumed in today’s political climate that Americans are feeling more accepting towards thsoe of different religions. If anything, I would assume that there would be a decline in acceptance, especially with the large controversy surrounding Trump’s travel ban which targets Muslims, and the severe increase in threats towards Jewish community centers. While this article is surprising, it does give me hope that our soceity today is recognizing the need for acceptance, and hopefully acting on it. This article relates to our class discussions on Monday because we all gave a short three minute summary of our congregational visits, and every person who spoke had a positivie, peaceful experience. While some students were greeted and welcomed a little more enthusiastically that others were, no one spoke of being turned away or not accepted at their congregation, which really demonstrates how peaceful and welcoming many religions can be, regardless of how others “feel” about them.